Botany and Ormiston Times : Howick and Botany Times Wednesday October 1 2014

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36 — Howick and Botany Times, Wednesday, October 1, 2014
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By Daniel Silverton
STEVE Waetford is little-known out-
side of rugby league circles, but is one
of the most important players at the
New Zealand Warriors franchise.
Waetford, who played for
the Howick Hornets before
being signed to the War-
riors, is in his third year
playing for the club’s feeder
team in the NSW Cup.
In his second year as captain, the
28-year-old led the Warriors reserves
to the competition’s semi-final quali-
fiers, losing to the Illawarra Cutters
12-29 in Sydney earlier this month.
As well as playing in the pivotal
fullback position, Waetford’s lead-
ership duties include fostering the
club’s junior and upcoming talent
from the NSW Cup and under-20s
teams to be ready for the rigours of
first grade.
“That’s what they see me as, some-
one who can blood the younger guys
through,” he told the Times. “My first
role is to play as well as I can, and
then to lead the other players.
“I wouldn’t say, ‘this is what you
have to do to make first grade’,
because I haven’t played there but
it’s to make them better players and
grow leaders.”
The reserve graders train up to
four times a week, including twice
with the NRL squad, and matches
in Australia every second week have
them away from Friday to Sunday.
Waetford juggles his vital and var-
ied responsibilities at the club with
part-time work as a relief teacher at
Howick College.
He is one of only a handful of play-
ersintheNSWCupteamnotona
fulltime contract who have to work
outside of their busy rugby league
commitments.
“You get used to it,” he says. “It
sounds like there is a lot going on but
it becomes normal.”
In his first two seasons, he worked
full-time including coaching a
school team in addition to playing
footy, which he says “unknowingly”
had an effect on his performance.
“During away games, we have
to wake up at 5am Australian time
on Sunday and don’t get back here
until 4pm, and then back to work
Monday morning and my body
would be drained.
“I’d have to plan for teaching and
have the stress of being full-time.”
He cut back on the amount of
teaching he did this year, which was
in part forced on him by a restructure
at the club.
The NSW Cup team, formerly the
Auckland Vulcans, was rebranded as
part of the Warriors, and a greater
emphasis placed on its function as a
stepping stone to the NRL.
Trainings previously held at night
to accommodate players who also
worked were shifted to during the
day to provide a closer connection to
the first-grade squad.
While it meant his career in educa-
tion has taken a back seat, Waetford
has noticed benefits on the field.
“The difference this year is my
body recovers a lot faster than it used
to,” he says.
“It became a bit easier.”
He had his first and only taste of
playing in the first-grade team this
year, in the preseason match against
Wigan Warriors in Hamilton.
“It was a buzz. From the morning
when I woke up to when it finished
it was cool.”
Other highlights of this season
have included playing at Eden
Park, and in front of a 10,000-
strong crowd in Gisborne, as well
as reaching the second week of the
play-offs.
“We were so close to not even
making the finals, we were wait-
ing on other results.
“When we got through we
beat a team [Mounties] that
had beat us twice in the season,
and they didn’t just beat us – they
thrashed us both times.”
While it was never stated explicitly
by the club’s coaching staff, he was
aware that an appearance in the NRL
was only a slight possibility.
“I knew that all along, even before
that I started the preseason, that I’d
only be cover for injury.
“There wasn’t any communication.
Realities kick in and you get on with
it. That’s the business of professional
sport. You don’t ask questions but
they get answered for you.”
Likewise, he leaving his options
open about a return to the club in
2015.
“I’ve had a conversation with the
coaches, they said have a break and
train the offseason and preseason
and see where it goes from there.
“Being at the club this year you
realise the dream is here for you, so
that’s a good feeling.”
Steve Waetford combines work as a physical
education teacher with being captain of the NZ
Warriors reserve grade team.
Photos supplied / Ra Pomare, Vodafone Warriors
Player, teacher, captain and leader
“That’s what
they see me as,
someone who
can blood the
younger guys
through. My first
role is to play as
well as I can, and
then to lead the other
players.”
– Steve Waetford